Amma "June" Glenn Ward, 77 of Ontario, OR, died Sept. 8, 2006 at an Ontario hospital. "Old bridge players never die; they just lose their finesse."
Amma June Glenn was born on June 3, 1929, the year of the Great Depression, to Denver C. and Magdalene Catherine Glenn of Ten Davis, ID. They were the children of Idaho pioneers, immigrants who moved to America when times were hard in their countries.
Amma June graduated from Parma High School in 1947 and attended the College of Idaho from 1948 through 1950.
She quit to marry Glenn E. Ward, a returning W.W. II veteran who was a star football and baseball player at the C of I.
They moved to Adrian where he taught history and coached football and later baseball. In 1951, Amma June, now just June, gave birth to a daughter, Carolyn Sue. In 1956, a son, Stuart Alan, was born.
June was a physical education teacher for a year, then a library aide at the high school in Adrian.
In 1977, June and Glenn moved to Ontario where June was a library aide at May Roberts Elementary. She later worked at the Malheur Mental Health Center until retirement. In 1985, she founded the Ontario bridge club because she had so many friends asking how to play duplicate bridge. The club started modestly with about three tables and stayed small until 1990 when the club grew, sponsored tournaments, and spawned a Monday Bridge Club which June also ran with great success." Her hard work, intelligence, and dedication paid off with her achievement of Life Master with the American Contract Bridge League.
She never craved the gold of jewelers, just the gold points of the ACBL. When she wasn´t looking for it, she also found gold in bridge and life partner, Bob Eisenbarth, and on Feb. 9, 1993, he led diamonds, and she returned hearts. They were married in Aransas County, TX, although they made their primary home in Ontario. With Bob, June got the bonus of a second family, and in recent years, she had the joy of becoming a grandmother to her son's children and Bob's grandchildren and great-grandchild, as well.
June's vivid blue eyes always twinkled with humor. She loved to laugh, she loved to read, she inspired her daughter to love poetry as much as she did, she encouraged her children to excel in academics and athletics, she followed all of her son´s sports activities, she made time for family and friends, and was the first to respond in times of crisis with a ready smile and her famous peanut brittle.
Last week, post surgery, June slipped into unconsciousness, never to recover. Medical tests determined that she had suffered a massive heart attack and stroke. She was disheartened at the physical infirmity which had occurred after a fall, and weakened by the pain, so perhaps her heart broke. We know that ours have with her loss.
June is survived by husband, Bob Eisenbarth of Ontario, OR; daughter, Carolyn Wolfe of Boise, ID; son, Stuart Ward and his wife Denise and two grandchildren of Auburn, WA; June's brother, Denver Lynn Glenn, Jr. of Boise, ID; and sister, Nova Jane Glenn of Eugene, OR; first husband Glenn Ward of Caldwell, ID; and by friends, other relatives, and bridge partners too numerous to mention, but you know who you are.
A memorial service for June is Sept. 12, 2006 at Lienkaemper Funeral Chapel, Ontario, OR. Private family inurnment will be at a later date at Lower Boise Cemetery, Parma, ID.
IDAHO STATESMAN, 12/Sep/2006